Autos: $2,000,000 Vote of Confidence

Somebody in Detroit likes American Motors.
Troubled by low sales, high costs and an "image lag" that keeps
customers from its showrooms, the auto industry's fourth-ranking
company has been retrenching heavily (TIME, Jan. 28). Last week,
however, a Detroit millionaire from outside the industry thought he saw
signs of hope: Robert B. Evans, 59, announced that he had bought over
200,000 shares of A.M.C. for almost $2,000,000 because he believes the
company has "good prospects."

Evans, son of a prosperous manufacturer, increased his wealth by
investing in real estate and in companies that manufactured
road-building equipment, furniture and motors. His newest...